Surgery on Tuesday, January 15

My surgery has been moved to Tuesday (instead of Wednesday) because of a cancellation in Dr Connor's schedule. I am delighted that it is a day sooner than originally scheduled because I want the healing to begin. The surgery will probably start around noon or so AND I still hope to go home the same day. Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Shout Out to Candi and Karna

Happy Birthday to my friend and colleague at Leadership Studies - Candi Hironaka. Doesn't she look good in her graduation garb? And doesn't she have a very handsome son in Myles?

Happy Birthday to my friend Karna. The two of us have had a contest to see who could have the most medical issues in one year.

The S Word

A quick update from my visit with my oncologist and surgeon today at KU Med. The day started with a visit with Dr Sharma, my oncologist. She took one look at my red incision site and said I needed to see Dr Connor, the surgeon. Actually, Nancy and I had a good visit with Dr Sharma even though I don't have much to report from her. Most of my day was focused on this crazy infection - imagine that. I had another sonogram - the fourth one since December 28. This time there was no fluid that could be drained. That is when Dr Connor mentioned the S word to me - surgery. So, on next Wednesday, January 16, Dr Connor will take me to surgery at KU Med to 'clean' my infected area, place a drain - yuk, and remove my port. I am the third or fourth surgery of the day for her, so she expects to start around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. If all goes well, I will be able to go home that night. If my condition worsens between now and next Wednesday, Dr Connor will do the surgery as an emergency.

I am not dreading this 'little' surgery because I see it as action to help me feel better. I am still feeling the effects of the bah humbug bug that landed me in the hospital between Christmas Day and New Year's day. My energy level is still low and my body aches. The right breast incision area is still swollen and red, but it is getting a little better. Have I mentioned the havoc that taking lots of antibiotics can have on one's intestinal tract? It is not pleasant. That's all I have to say about that.

Happy Belated Birthday to my friend Grace Hwang

Grace and I have shared a similar experience because we have each been on our own journey with breast cancer. Grace was diagnosed before me (as you can tell by the length of her hair compared to mine) so she has served as my mentor in what to expect during treatment. She also arranged my first doctor's appointment at the Cancer Center at KU Med. Thanks Grace for your guidance during my journey AND Belated Happy Birthday!!

Sad News for one of my friends

Di Hinrichs, one of our dearest friends, lost her dad Monday morning. He died of an apparent heart attack while he and his wife, Maggie, were driving a load of cattle to the sale barn. Warren loved farming and he was able to do it until his very last minute of life. Anyway, I just wanted to send Di, Jackie, and Jeremy a little love and care this week as they are spending time with Di's mother, Maggie, near Hartford, Kansas. The link to Warren Hinrichs obituary: http://www.emporiagazette.com/obits/2008/jan/08/hinrichs/

Doctors and Antibiotics

This lingering infection has really been my first complication from treatment for breast cancer. I made it through chemotherapy on schedule and I was healthy enough to have a bilateral mastectomy just two and a half weeks after my last chemotherapy treatment. Don’t get me wrong – chemotherapy is tough and it takes a toll on one’s body. But, I did not have any major side effects that many chemotherapy patients have. I seemed to get better after surgery and gain a little strength, but I hit a wall in mid-November. I didn’t feel well during December, but I attributed it to the ‘anti estrogen’ drug Femara that I started on November 1st. The side effects vary from person to person, so I thought that was what was making me feel tired and blah. It wasn’t as if I was sick, I just didn’t feel well. Everything was going ok until Christmas day when an infection in my right breast (or at least where my breast used to be) and underarm area knocked me off my feet AND I missed Christmas with the family. I ended up in the Salina hospital for a week on IV antibiotics. I also had the seroma drained twice while there. Since I left the hospital on New Year’s Day, I have still battled this pesky infection. I met with my local doctor on Monday and she sent me to the Manhattan hospital (not admitted) to have the seroma drained again. This time the doctor could only drain 50 cc’s of fluid compared to 300 and 240 cc’s while I was in Salina. I am on my fifth antibiotic since Christmas Day – IV Rocephin and Vancomycin in the hospital, and Keflex, Augmentin and Levaquin at home. I am ready for an end to this infection!

I will meet with my oncologist and surgeon on Thursday at KU Med. Hopefully, they will have an answer to the bug that seems to have taken up residence in my body. I am hoping this infection is what was making me feel yucky for the past several weeks. My hope is that I will defeat this infection very soon and feel like a new woman! I really want to move on with my life. I want to return to the classroom and feel like the old Mary Kay. Will that ever happen? I am not sure I can go back to the old Mary Kay because of what I’ve been through. We learn from our life experiences, we don’t stay the same. I probably have thought more about my life in the past eight months than I have in the past eight years. Did I learn anything? I am not sure about that, but my perspective has certainly changed. So, what am I trying to say? Two things: I want to feel better so that I can live life with my new perspective.

I want to give a special ‘shout out’ to my sister Debbie who gave up her Christmas Day festivities to be with Nancy and me at the Russell Hospital and the Salina Hospital. She is the one who rolled her eyes when the first ER doctor said I had the crud that everyone else had or that I had a bladder infection. I wish you could have seen her facial expression each time he tried to push one of those diagnoses on us. Anyway, Debbie arranged to have me admitted to the Salina hospital. The person who did the paperwork in admitting at the Salina hospital asked me if I had connections here, I just said yes. I was too sick to explain about Debbie. According to Debbie, I did save her about 5,000 calories on Christmas Day by spending the day in the hospital. She is sure she would have grazed all day on the good food at Susan’s house.

Love to all,
Mary Kay